The present invention relates to a practice target and more particularly to a baseball pitcher's practice target.
Targets of various types have been available heretofore. One such target, adapted especially for use by tennis players and the like is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,068 issued Oct. 10, 1972 to Julia P. McDougall. Essentially, the target device includes a rebound wall which is non-planar and which may include indented or projecting formations which impart unpredictable bounces to the ball in order to sharpen the response of the player and accustom him to rebounds which may follow unexpected paths.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,909 issued Jan. 11, 1972 to David Doynow discloses a baseball pitcher's practice device and essentially comprises a life-size manikin and an adjustable rectangular frame member which delineates the "strike zone". Although the Doynow device is an improvement over the rebound wall of McDougall in the teaching of accuracy of delivery for a baseball pitcher the Doynow device nevertheless fails to take into account several fundamental pitching principles which require constant reinforcement through practice. For example, a pitcher is taught that when the situation demands that a pitch be delivered which will most likely result in the batter hitting the ball on the ground, i.e., a "grounder" such pitch should be delivered to the lower area of the strike zone whereas when the situation demands that the batter hit the ball into the air, i.e., a "fly ball", the pitch should be delivered to the upper area of the strike zone. It is also important to train the pitcher to be ever aware that pitches delivered to the inside of the strike zone will more than likely be "pulled" along that foul line. None of the baseball pitcher's practice targets available heretofore have provided for such training. Indeed, random placement of the indentations and projections as taught by the McDougall patent would have an adverse effect upon the training of a baseball pitcher.